


What about Angels

by nathyfaith



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angel Skye, F/M, Pillow Talk, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, angel with a shotgun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-18
Updated: 2014-04-18
Packaged: 2018-01-19 20:13:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1482445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nathyfaith/pseuds/nathyfaith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skye helps Ward deal with the invisible scars left behind by Hydra.<br/>Sequel to "Angel With A Shotgun".</p>
            </blockquote>





	What about Angels

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy it lovers!  
> I had such a great response for "Angel With A Shotgun" that I decided to do a sequel.  
> Also, if anyone is interested the lullaby Skye hums to Ward it's called Sleepsong by Secret Garden.

_**"How unfair it’s just our luck** _   
_**Found something real that’s out of touch** _   
_**But if you’d searched the whole wide world** _   
_**Would you dare to let it go?” Birdy** _

May and Coulson are the ones that finally unplug the machine, FitzSimmons are on the computer that is connected to the hardframe of the machine, destroying all the remain research they had done in Ward’s mind.

Skye is freeing Ward from the strings as fast and easy as she can, the fact is that she doesn’t know why he is not moving now, why he is so silent.

“You’re not real.” He voices, but is husky due to all his previous shouting. “It’s always the same thing, they bring someone that looks like her, let me think I’m getting out of here, pretend the machine is off, that I’m free, but is all a game. I’m still sleeping.” He sits with difficulty and Skye holds her breath, she wants to move just like her team wants to, but he is detached, as if he’s lost in a world inside his mind. “Skye is gone, dead on the cold floor where Quinn shot her. They made me believe in some sort of cure. That the only girl I really cared—” Skye rushes to him and cups his face in her much smaller hands.

“Ward.” Her voice is breaking and she is doing the best she can not to cry. “I’m here, I’m real, the team is real and we are getting the hell out of here, so get up and put your arm around me.” He shoves her with his hands doing the best he can not to believe her. His wrists are red and bruised Skye notices quickly.

“You think I’m gonna believe you? An imitation of her?” He laughs without humor. “They killed her.”

Skye slapped his face hard. “Shut the fuck up and come with me right now!”

It was like a switch in Ward’s mind. Till now neither of the illusions or actresses had done something like that. “And that’s an order SO. Don’t make me beg.”

 _“Skye?”_  There’s recognition in his eyes for the first time as he reaches to touch the girl’s face. “You’re not an illusion.”

“Seriously? No shit Sherlock.” She said rolling her eyes. “Come on, Grant. We have to go now.” He blinks and sees the rest of the team at the door, FitzSimmons side by side, May and Coulson close to each other, he notices bags on the scientists shoulders, but decides to ignore that for the moment. Ward then does the last thing that they thought he would do, he brings Skye into a bone crushing hug.

“Rookie.” He murmurs over her head in utter relief, he releases her and with a nod throws his right arm behind her neck for support and holds her hand when she hugs his torso. They walk in silence, either too tired to discuss anything or completely out of speech.

When they enter the Bus Ward is almost falling apart from Skye’s arms. Coulson and May help him into the lab, even though he seems incredibly uncomfortable with their help, so Simmons can examine him properly. May climbs the stairs going straight to the cockpit, wanting to get the team as far away as possible from that place, from anything Hydra connected. Coulson observes Ward sitting on the cold table, FitzSimmons moving around putting their bags on the floor or over cabinets, distracting themselves for a minute. Skye sighs behind them and is about to move upstairs as well when Ward calls her. Coulson smiles at them and leaves, climbing the stairs to go his office.

“Skye? Can you stay here?” He is stumbling in his words as if he’s afraid she’ll disappear.

She turns back, propels on the table and sits on his side, her feet much farther from the ground then his and rest her head in his shoulder. “I thought we had lost you.” She whispered to him.

“And I thought I had lost you.” He murmurs back at her, kissing her temple, she closed her eyes in tiredness.

“I honestly think I should check the both of you. Skye?” Simmons calls and the hacker responds hoarsely.

“I’m just getting out of the adrenaline high, check him first.”

When Simmons moved with her stethoscope to check his heart beat rate Ward flinched. Fitz noticed and exchanged a look with the biochemist.

“Maybe, you should check Skye first for injuries and meanwhile Ward can have a shower—” Fitz proposed.

“Yes, of course. Probably it was more mental than physical with you, am I right Ward?” Questioned Simmons as kindly as possible.

“Yes. A shower would be good. You will come up later, won’t you Skye?” He asks, sliding from the lab table to the floor, his body beaten, his heart empty. He misses Skye’s touch the moment she stands up for Simmons, letting him go.

“Yeah of course, I’ll be up in a sec. Just let them check me up and I’ll ask Jemma for some things for you too.” Skye answered giving him a small smile.

He simply walked out nodding to the ‘kids’, he had never been so happy and at the same terrified to seem them all at that dark room. The smell was ingrained in his mind. There was too much light in the Bus corridors, but the idea of no light at all frightened him to the core.

Skye swallowed hard watching her SO’s back as he ascended the stairs, he was limping a bit on his left side, she noticed, before he disappeared in a corner.

 _“What in the hell?”_ Asked the Scottish man. “He flinched. He never did something like that before. Not even when the Beserker was at its highest.” Fitz commented.

“You have a minor cut in you eyebrow, I can put some ointment, it will help with the swelling.” Simmons said but Skye shakes her head and asks “Can you just give me the meds and whatever miraculous thing you guys have because something tells me Ward is gonna need anything and everything of those.”

Simmons then grab some meds, ointments, some other thing Skye surely cannot pronounce without doing a silly face and puts them inside a small bag, the hacker insists that she could take it on her hands but both Fitz and Simmons rolled their eyes at her, they still wondered how she was still awake and up to all this, because lately she was the one keeping everyone together and in check, including Agent May.

The older agent might not admit but she had grown closer to Skye and her way of keeping things‘running’. Skye had May’s back more than once these last couple of weeks and even a day that wouldn’t be spoken by neither of them, Skye had helped her in the bath and out of a panic attack, it had been the same day Coulson had been almost captured by Hydra’s men and they had lost contact with Ward. Until now, May wondered what kept her going - was it _faith_?

Skye accepted the bag and smiled at the duo, walking slower to the stairs, her mind a mile per hour. She arrived at the bathroom’s door and was surprise that she couldn’t hear any water running.  _“Ward, are you okay in there?”_

He doesn’t answer. She knocks this time calling his name once again “Grant?” She only hears silence. “Look, I’m coming in, complain all you like later, okay?”

She inserts the code in the panel and as she enters the bathroom and closes the door behind her Skye notices that Ward is standing as best as he can upholding himself in the sink, the mirror in front of him shows the image of a beaten up man, eyes vacancy, lost. She feels her heart constrict inside her chest and moves slowly to touch his forearm. He startles at the sudden contact but sobers up the minute his eyes reach her small frame.

“It’s just me Ward. Why haven’t you showered yet? What is the matter?” Her  voice is concerned, but he remains quiet. Minutes pass before he says “I don’t know. It’s all so bright and if I close my eyes darkness engulfs me.”

“Alright. I’ll just put the lights down a bit, okay? As if I had just opened a window and let the moonlight in.” She flicked the lights down and he blinked at the sudden change. “Better?” She asks caressing his wrist.

“Yeah.” He murmurs back, reveling in her touch.

“Come on, I’ll help you with the shower, and I swear if you tell this to anyone on the team and I’ll end you.”

He smirks before saying “I’m not afraid of you Skye. You’re the first person that I have felt safe with in a long time.”

“Okay dork, sit down, I’m gonna undress you.” She said placing the medicine bag over the sink.

“Never thought those words would come out of your lips anytime soon, Rookie.”

“You’re hurt and flirting? Has little me rubbed on you too much?” She asked tugging her hands in the base of his shirt and taking it off as easily as she would do a child, she puts the stained shirt on the floor and glances at him. His torso is wounded, Skye can see patterns of dark purple, light purple and a little yellow kind, she traces her fingertips on the ones that look darker, gasps when she feels him shiver.

“Skye?” He calls, worked up by the fact that she didn’t say anything and simply swallowed her questions giving him the space he clearly needed.

She took his shoes and socks off, distracting herself with the movements, then Skye got up and turned on the water. “Do you need help with the pants too?”

Ward took them off, but kept the black boxers on and entered the shower Skye watching him. “Ward, don’t get me wrong but for this to work properly, you need to step into the water.”

He swallows, remembering the times they inserted his head under water forcefully throughout interrogation. Skye then decides she’s gonna have to do it. She can’t believe in what she is about to do.  _“Geez, I can’t believe I’m doing this. Can this get anymore embarrassing, gosh?”_ Her inner self asks, in her best mocking tone ever. The hacker strips out of her clothes, keeping her underwear on and enters the shower with him. “What are you doing, Skye?”

“Clearly, helping you to bathe. Since you’re looking at the water as if it was Nessie.” He looks at her flabbergasted “You know Robot, the Loch Ness Monster?” She sighs, seriously he needs to get with the damn cult program thing. She took his hand and pulled him underneath the water with her. Ward closed his eyes and let the water wash away his troubles. 

Skye picks the liquid soap up and pours it into a sponge, she is distracted by her SO’s voice “Rookie, is that strawberry I smell?”

“Look, I’ll be the one stretching myself to clean up your back  and the rest of your body so, suck it up,  Buttercup.” She mumbles gruffly.

“Don’t get me wrong Skye, but I’m feeling a little naked under your eyes.”

“Oh, that’s because you technically are. Close your eyes if it will make you feel better, princess. Actually, just do it, so you’ll stop staring at me or my scars.” She said, gently rubbing his back, he moaned a bit uncomfortably, it made sense there where cuts in all the extension of his back and front, some looked a bit deeper, some were almost healed but they certainly still stung a little. “Sorry.” She murmured.

“I don’t mind you staring and I can’t really see you right now since you’re behind me.”

“You’re so rational Grant, geez.” She sighs pushing him under the water again, he looks at her small frame now. Her hair wet falling around her back and chest, the underwear is not as revealing as he imagine but it was very Skye.

“Fine, you’re right. Now seriously the Avengers?” He questioned a little smile in the corner of his lips.

“What? Fangirl much for you?” She teases and says pouting a bit “I know is childish.” And with a move of her hand she moves the hair that had fell in her face.

“No it’s cute. Very you.”

“Shut up and bend down I need to wash your hair.” She asked playfully.

“I feel like you’re mothering me.”

“Whatever that means.” She stated, putting shampoo in her hands and reaching his head. “I’m not washing your other body parts, I’ll just close my eyes and you finish that one.”

This earned her a laugh, a real one and for a moment she was relieved that he could still smile. She then gave him the other soap, closed her eyes and turned her back on him. “When you finish, let me know so I can use the shower too. I need to wash my hair, it takes a bit longer than yours.” She started to say but Ward refused to look at her, just because she was helping him, it didn’t mean he was blind or less attracted to her, he finished and left the shower, his underwear washed in his hands a habit he had developed years ago. “Done, shower is all yours Skye. I’ll be in my bunk.”

“Don’t lock the door!” She says, putting her head out of the shower curtain showing a bit more than just her face.

“Fine, geez, little you can be bossy!” He says wrapped in a robe almost closing the door.

He notices it’s been a while since he left her in the bathroom and is about to move from the bed when the door to his bunk slides open. “Sorry it took me longer than I intended.” She said entering the small bunk holding the food, bottles of water and the small bag he was sure he had seen in the bathroom. “Got some poptarts for us. I thought you might be hungry. Oh, Ward, why did you put the shirt on already? I need to check on those wounds.”

“This is not necessary.” He grumbles.

“Ward, don’t start. Take the shirt off, please.” She asks gently trying not to lose her patience.  “Sometimes I swear you sound like a frightened little boy.” She says sitting behind him as he shoves the shirt over the chair in his room, and picks up the poptart she left at his side. Skye wonders how that even fits inside his room, but ignores the thought the moment her eyes glue to his back. The bruises were more visible now, she sighs and opens the bag. “So, Jemma said you might have to take these meds for a week until, well your body is completely healed.” He moans displeased munching on the poptart. “That, or she is putting needles on you.”

“Fine. Just give me whatever those are.” He says as a petulant child.

She extends her hand from behind his shoulder and let the meds fall into his palm, he felt her warm breath on his neck and for a second he almost turned to her to meet her lips.

She uses a cotton swab to place the ointment on his back, mainly on the bigger cuts that two weeks ago would have needed stitches, she wondered how it wasn’t infected at that point. Skye finished applying the ointment and then used some wraps to place over the bigger ones with some patches. She moves to his front to see if it is just as bad as his back but it’s not, only underneath bruises, Skye helps him with the t-shirt since he had tossed it backwards in the chair, she also noticed he was looking a bit sleepy, which was understandable since she had given him antibiotics and some vitamins and now he really needed to rest.

Ward lays down crawling a bit to the head of the bed, and Skye picks the garbage from the foot of the bed and watches her SO for a minute. “Where are you going?” He questioned in a low voice.

“To the kitchen, I’ll be right back.” She murmured back. Minutes later when Skye gets back from her trip to the kitchen and bathroom she finds Ward asleep holding the pillow, but contrary to what she expected he wasn’t sleeping peacefully at all. She enters and closes the bunk’s door, hearing Ward’s breath labored a second later he jerks out of  sleep her name falling out from his trembling lips. Skye runs to his aid, bringing him into a hug. His hands found her blouse as he tightens his grasp on her, resting his head in the curve of her neck. His breath escaping in helpless gulfs. She pets his hair, brushing her fingers on the base of his neck, whispering comforting words.

“Please don’t go.” He pleads and he sounds so defeated that breaks Skye’s heart. Has no one comforted him over nightmares before? Had Ward been deprived of love this much? What had Garrett done to his teenager soul?

He is looking at her now, his hands still lost in the blouses fabric material, Skye cups his face in her palms and kisses his forehead cleaning the tears that had fell. The hacker moves, crawling in his bed near to the wall side reaching a hand to him to invite him back to rest. Ward doesn’t think much still fuzzed by the dream and the drugs and lays on Skye’s side. She sighs knowing that this little distance he is putting is useless.

“Ward, just come here and hug me to sleep, okay?” She tells him her arms opened, he accepts it, laying his head on her chest between her breasts closing his eyes as the rhythm of her beating heart. Her right hand rests on his hair, caring gently, while her left hand is intertwined with his.

“Wanna tell me what the nightmare is about?” She asked softly her hand massaging his skull.

“Not really, but you’ll just keep asking, won’t you?” He counters her.

“Yep.” She says popping the “p” with her lips.

“It’s usually you and the team, this time they had brain washed FitzSimmons and made them kill you in cold blood.” He confesses to her. 

“You’re safe now, Grant.” She kisses his head “Try to get some sleep. I’ll be here. Promise.” He closes his eyes, playing with her knuckles and whispers “You know I would do anything for you, don’t you Skye?”

“Just like I would, Grant.” She continues to pet his hair and as she does she hums an old lullaby to him, waiting for his breathing to even and his body to relax against hers so she can too follow him to the land of dreams.  


End file.
